Corn-topping machine.



F. I. BONHAM.

CORN TOPPING MACHINE.

APPLIOATION FILED MAY 20, 1908.

Patented Jan.25,1910.

5 SHEETS-SHE T 1.

un a mom Frederick I .B onham 1-". I. BON HAM.-

OORN TOPPING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 20, 1908.

Patented Jan. 25, 1910.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

l/vi b1 (Lama Frederick LBonham ahtoznugs Patented Jan.25, 1910.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

I Snuentoz 2/91 b1 zoom F. i. BONHAM.

CORN TOPPING MACHINE.

APPLIOATION FILED MAY 20, 190B.

Patented Jan. 25, 1910.

5 SHBETS-SHEET 4.

Eli wanton wit" use:

Frederick I. Burma/Tn P. I. BONHAM.

CORN TOPPING MAGHINE.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 20, 1908.

947,292. Patented Jan. 25, 1910.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 5.

Suva/Mic:

wihwooo I I I FREDERICK I. BONI-IAM, or HELENA, OKLAHOMA.

conn-ronrme MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 25, 1910.

Application filed May 20, 1908. Serial No. 433,952.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FREDERICK I. BONHAM,

a citizen of the United States, residing at Helena, in the county ofAlfalfa, State of Oklahoma, have invent-ed certain new and usefulImprovements in Corn-Topping Ma--' chines; and I do hereby declare thefollowing to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention,such as will enable others skilled in the'art to which it appertains tomake and use the same.

The present invention has reference to improvements in corn-toppingmachines, and it aims generally, to provide a topping mechanism which isadapted for attachment to a wagon body and is designed primarily forcutting off the heads of-Kafir corn, broom corn, and sorghum, and fordelivering the heads to th'e-wa on. e i

More especial y, the invention contemplates the provisionof atoppinmechanism which may be readily attache to and detached from a wagon bodyand which includes a pair of elevators set at an angle to each other andcapable of adjustment bodily toward and from the ground without changingsuch angle, to which end the frame which supports the front elevator andis'connectedto that of the rear elevator is provided at one side with apair of parallel brace bars slidable in guides carried by and formin aportion of the main supporting frame which is attached directly to thewagon body.

The invention therefore, resides chiefly in the particular constructionof the main supporting frame, and of the frames which support the twoelevators, and in the particular devices employed for effecting thebodily movement above referred to of the lastmentioned frames.

The invention further resides in the particular construction of thefront elevator, said elevator comprising two endless belts Whose upperportions gradually approach each other so as to exercise sufficientclamping pressure upon the severed heads of the stalks to carry the samebeyond the knife and deposit them upon the rear elevator.

The preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated in theaccompanying drawings, in which corresponding parts or features aredesignated by the same reference numerals throughout the several views.

Of the said drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation of the completeinvention. Fig. 2 is a .to plan view thereof. Fig. 3 is a bottom p anview of the attachment removed from the wagon. Fig. 4 isa transversevertical section taken on the line 4-4 of Fig. 2. Fig. 5 is a collectiveelevational view of the members of the clutch. Fig. 6 is an enlargeddetail view of the reciprocating knife. Fig.

7 is a similar view of one of the front rollers around which the beltsof the front elevator pass. Fig. 8 is a fragmental detail viewillustrating one of the washer-plates and the ping mechanism as a whole;O and D the front and rear elevators; and Ethe mechanism for drivingsaid elevators.

The wagon A includes the box or body 5, and the front and rear axlebolsters 6 and 7 towhich the wheels 8 and 9 .are rotatably fastened.

The supporting frame B includes upper and-lower bars 10 and 11 which aredis osed against the left hand side board. 0 the wa on body, the firstmentioned bar terminating at its forward end'in an enlargement or head12 to which the upper end of the bar 11 is bolted, as shown in Fi 1,said bar ex-- tending downwardly towar the rear end of the wa on bodyand being disposed at an angle 0 about 35 to'the bar 10. 10 is providedwith a series of integral clips 13 which project laterally therefrom andextend across the u per edge of the above mentioned side boarterminating at their free ends in depending hooks, the rearmost hookhaving connected thereto the upper end of a chain 14, whose lower end isattached to the adjacent end of a diagonally-disposed. rod 15. Thethreaded lower end of this rod extends through an opening formed in theSaid bar lower left hand edge (with respect to late 16 L-shaped incross-section, the proecting end of the rod having a tightening nutscrewed thereon. The head 12 .of. the beam 10 is provided with alaterally-projecting perforated ear l7through which extends the threadedend of a rod 18 whose hooked lower end is engaged in an eye formed inthe upper end of a strap 19 bolted to the bottom of the wagon body, byreason ofwhich construction, it will be apparent that the supportingframe as a whole is held tightly in lace against the side board of thewagon bo y.

The beams and 11 of the frame B have secured thereto toward their rearends a pair of upwardly and rearwardly extending guides 20and 21disposed in spaced relation to and parallel with each other, said guidesbeing constructed of angle iron and carrying respectively the slidablemetal I-beams 22 and 23, which are connected with each other by a seriesof three transversely-disposed cross-beams 24, 25 and 26. The beams- 22and 23 areheld against lateral displacement in one direction duringtheir sliding movements by the vertical sides of the guides, and in theother direction by means ofcollars 27 secured to the up per ends of theguides and by bolts 28 which pass through pairs of perforated lateralears formed upon the upper and lower. edges of the guides. The lowermostcross brace 26 has secured thereto a laterally-projecting brace 29 whichextends beneath and is bolted to the inner leg of the platform 30 whichsupports the front ele- 35' vator C, the upper end of which latter issupported by a triangular brace 31 which is in turn connected by a brace32 withthe above mentioned brace 29 and is bolted to thecentral crossbrace 25.

The supporting platform is inclined forwardly and downwardlywith respectto the wa on body, and comprises a pair of legs whlch gradually increasein width from their lower to their ,upper ends and are joined togetherat the latter oint as shown in Fig.3. Upon each leg of said platformtravels a sprocket. chain 33 which passes around sprocket wheels 34 and35 carried by vertical shafts 36 and 37 located respectively at thelower ends of said legs and at the upper or rear end'of the platform.Intermediate their ends, the sprocket chains pass around grooved collars38 formed upon the lower ends of rollers 39 secured to vertical shaftsings formed in the platform legs, the upper end of each shaft extendingthrough an opening formed in the upper portion of, an angular strap 41whose lower portion is pro- 60\v-ided with an opening through which theupper end ofthe shaft 36 extends, while its upper end in like manner isprovided with a similar opening which receives the upper 7 end of thecorresponding shaft 37. The

whose lower ends are journaled in open- I shafts 37 are ri idly securedto vertical rollers 44 each 0 which is connected with the correspondingroller 39 by an endless belt 45 provided with a series of vertical slats46 arranged in spaced relation to each other, each belt having a widthof about ten inches. The sprocket chains 33 are each provided with aseries of curved fingers 47 arranged at regular intervals.

The rotation of the belts and sprocket chaifis above referred to iseffected by means of a sprocket chain 48 which passes around a largesprocket 49 rotatably mounted upon the left hand end of the rear axle,and secured by clips to the spokes of the adjacent wheel 9, and around asmaller sprocket 50 loosely mounted upon a transversely-disposedhorizontal shaft 52 journaled at one end in an opening formed in thedown-bent inner end of the triangular brace 31, and atthe other end in abearing sleeve formed upon the lower end of a vertical brace 53 whoselaterally-bent upper end extends across the outer strap 41 and isprovided with an opening through which the upper end of thecorresponding shaft 37 extends. The lastmentioned sprocket forms onemember of a clutch and to this end, its inner face has compoundedtherewith a ratchet wheel 54 adapted to be received in an annular seat55 formed in the inner face of a pinion 56 which is rigidly secured tothe shaft 52 and serves as the other member of the clutch, the peripheryof said seat being notched to' provide ratchet teeth 57 with which theteeth of the ratchet wheel 54 onage. The clutch members are normally eldin engagement with each other by means of an ex ansible coil spring 58which embraces the s aft 52 and fits'in a circumscribing groove formedtherein, said spring bearing at one end against the outer wall of saidgroove and at the other end against the adjacent face of a collar 59which is formed integral with the sprocket 50 and is embraced by theyoked lower end of a lever 60 pivoted to the brace 31 as indicated bythe numeral 61. Movement of this lever in one direction will thereforeunship the sprocket member of the clutch from engagement with the pinionmember thereof.

The shaft 52 is further provided with a pair of oppositely facingpinions 62, each of which meshes with a similar pinion 63 secured to theadjacent shaft 37. It will thus be apparent that during the progress ofthe wagon, the rotation of the sprocket 49 will efiect the rotation ofthe'shaft 52 when the clutch members are in engagement with each otherin consequence, of the sprocket chains 33 and belts 45.

The rear or upper end of the platform 30 has bolted thereto a plate 64provided with a pair of forwardly-extending guard fingers 65 acrosswhich moves a forwardly-project-- ing lateral blade 66, formed centrallyupon a reciprocatory knife bar 67, said blade being pointed and beveledat opposite edges as shown in Fig. 6. The inner end of the knife bar isprovided with a pair of perforated upstanding cars 68 which are arrangedin spaced relation to each'other for the reception therebetween of theouter end of a rod 69 whose inner end is connected to the crank portionof a shaft 70 j'ournaled in dependin brackets formed upon the under faceof t e brace 31, the rear end of said shaft having secured thereto apinion 71 which meshes with the pinion 56 above referred to, thisconstruction beingillustrated in Fig. 3. During the rotation of theshaft 52, the knife bar 67 will thus have an endwise reciprocatingmovement imparted thereto, carrying the blade 66 backward and forwardacross the guard fingers 65.

The extreme rear end of the platform 30 opens u on the rear elevator Dwhich is arrange at right angles to the elevator (l, and has its upperor discharge end overhanging the wagon body as shown in Fig. 2. Thelast-mentioned elevator comprises an endless belt 72 provided with aseries of transversely-disposed slats 73 secured thereto at regularintervals and a' supporting frame 74 consisting of parallel verticalside boards provided at their opposite ends with alining openingsthrough which the ends of the upper and lower conveyer shafts 75 and 76project, a portion of the front side board being cut away toward itslower end to permit the extension thereacross of a trans-. verselydisposed shield 7 7 whose free or front end is curved inwardly as shownin Fig. 2. Said frame is further connected with the platform of theelevator C by means of a strap 78 and a plate 79, said strap beingformed integral with the outer strap 41 and being bolted at its rear endto the rear side board of the frame of said elevator D. The rear end ofthe plate 79 extends beyond the rear edge of the platform 30 and iscurved outwardly at such point. The inner strap 41 is further braced bymeans of a strap 80 which is bolted at its inner end to the cross brace24 and is pro-. vided at its outer end with an opening through which theupper end of the adjacent shaft 37 extends,-said strap bein connectedwith the brace 31 by. a 'vertica brace 82.

The straps 41 are likewise further braced by a vertical yoke 83whose'bight portion extends upwardly between said straps, while itsangular legs. are bolted at then lower ends to the outer leg of theplatform 30 and to the brace 29, the horizontal portions of said legsbeing through which pro ect the up er ends of the shafts 40 which,carrythe ro lers 39.

The belt 72 passes around rollers 84 and 85 secured to the shafts 75 and76, the firstmentioned shaft having secured to its forward end a pinion86 which meshes with the outer pinion 62 carried by the shaft 52.

As originally stated, the invention contemplates the provisionof.devices for raising and lowering the two elevators and theirattendant parts bodily without changing the angle of said elevators toeach other or to.

the wagon body. To this end, the upper bar 10 carries a pair of spacedcars 87 located adjacent the upper cross beam 24, between which isrevolubly mounted a grooved pulley 88 around which passes a; chain 89whose lower end is connected to the lower cross brace 26, the upper endof said chain being connected to a link 90disposed above the bar 10 ofthe supporting frame B and connected at its forward end to a lever 91pivrovided with openings oted' at its lowerend to the head 12 of saidbar, said lever carrying a spring-pressed dog 92 which is adapted forengagement with the rack teeth 93 formed upon the upper edge of saidhead. By reason of this construction, it will be apparent that when theabove-mentioned lever is swung forwardly or to the left with referenceto Fig. 1, the bars 22 and 23 will be raised bodily, carrying with themthe elevators C and D, said bars sliding in the guides 20 and 21. Inorder to prevent the upward movement of said elevators from interferingwith the operation of their driving mechanism E, the chain 48 is madesufficiently long to' permit it to pass around the sprockets 50 and 49without exercising any binding action thereon. lln connection with saidchain there is employed a tightening device consisting as shown in Fig.1' of a 'the under face 'of the triangular brace 31, the

weight of the wheel being sufficiently great to automatically take upthe slack in the chain, as will be apparent.

From the foregoing description, it will be understood that during theprogress of the machine through a cornfield, the stalks, will passbetween the' gathering arms (which latter will also raise the downstalks), until they reach the fingers 47 carried by the sprocket chainsof the elevator C, said fingers engaging the stalks and carryin themrearwardly toward the knife 66. s the stalks, approach said knife, theyare gradting practically all of the down stalks to be fingers.

' vention be limited to the specific details of with reference to thegroun rigidly connected to the cross-beams; a gathbodily raising andlowering the-platform, to

ually forced to ther b the conve of the belts 45, fdtil thdy reach saidknife,- whereupon the stalks are topped, the severed headsbeing'prevented from falling to the ground by the pressure of said beltswhich latter carry them across the ,upper end of the platform 30 fromwhich they fall onto the belt 72 of the elevator D, whence they aredischarged into the wagon. It will also be apparent that owing to theprovision of the devices for lowering the elevators, the curved ends ofthe shoes may be moved to within a slight distance of theground, thuspermitraised into engagement with the conveyer Further description ofthe machine and its operation is deemed unnecessary in View of theforegoing, it being understood that modifications and changes may bemade within the scope of the appended claims, inasmuch as it is notintended that the inconstruction shown and described.

What is claimed is: 1. The combination, with a supporting frame, and apair of guides carried thereby, of a pair of beams slidable in saidguides; cross-beams connecting the first-mentioned beams together; anupwardly and rearwardly-inclined bifurcated platform rigidly connectedto the cross-beams; a gathering arm secured to the lower end of each legof the latform; an elevator carried by said plat orm; means for drivingthe elevator; and means connected with one of said crossbeams, forbodilyraising and lowerin the platform, to adjust the position 0 thegathering arms with reference to the ground. 2. The combination, with asupporting frame, and a air of 1guides carried thereby, of a pair ofcams s 'dable in said guidescross-beams connecting the first mentionedbeams together; an upwardly and rear wardly-inclined bifurcated platformrigidly connected to :the cross-beams;-a gathering arm secured to thelower endof each is of the platform; an elevator carried by saiplatform; means for drivin the elevator; and means carried by said ameand connected with one of said cross-beams, for

adjust the position of the gathering arms 3. The combination, with a suporting frame provided at its forward en with a rack, of apairof guidescarried by said frame; a pair of beams slidable in said guides;cross-beams connecting the firstmentioned beams together; an upwardlyand rearwardly inclined bifurcated platform ermg arm secured to thelower endof each leg of the platform; an elevator carried by saidplatform; means for driving the elevator; a lever ivoted to 'thesupporting frame and provided with a dog arranged for engagement withthe rack; and connectin devices between the lever and one of saidcross-beams, for bodily raising or lowering the latform when said leveris moved in one. ction orthe other, to adjust the position of theathering arms with reference to the ground.

4. The combination with a supporting frame, of a-frame slidablyconnected therewith; a platform ri 'dly connected to the sliding frame;an e evator carried by the platform; a supporting frame joined to saidplatform; an elevator carried by the last named su porting frame andarranged at right ang es to the first named elevator; means for drivingthe elevators; and means for'bodily raising and lowering the slidingframe.

5. The combination with a supporting frame, and a pair of uides securedthereto, of a sliding frame incfuding a pair of beams fitting in saidguides; an upwardly and rearwardly extending platform rigidly connectedto the sliding frame; a su porting frame rigidly connected to said patform; an elevator carried by-said platform; an elevator carried by thelast named supporting frame; means for driving the elevators; and meansfor bodily raising and lowering the sliding frame.

6. The combination with a bifurcated platform and a cutting memberlocated aded upon each leg intermediate the ends thereof; a rollersecured to each intermediate and rear shafts; belts connecting therollers on the intermediate and rear shafts, said belts convergingadjacent the cutting member, to supplort the severed portions of thematerial fe therebetween to said member; and means for driving saidchains and belts.

7. The combination with a bifurcated platform and a cutting memberlocated adacent the rear end of the bifurcation, of a shaft mounted uponthe front end of each leg of the platform, said legs being formed bysaid bifurcation; a sprocket secured to each shaft; a air of shaftsmounted upon the rear end of the platform; a sprocket secured to eachrear shaft; chains connecting the front and rear sprockets; a shaftmounted upon each leg intermediate the ends thereof; a roller secured toeach intermediate and rear shaft; belts connecting the rollers on theintermediate and. rear shafts; said In testimony whereof, I afiix mysignagelts converging laldjacent (tihe cutting ipemture, in presence oftwo witnesses.

er, to support t e severe portions 0 the material fed therebetween tosaid member; FREDERICK BONHAM' 5 means for driving/said chains andbelts; and Witnesses:

means for bodily raising and lowering the W. D. BOWLING, platform. C..E. WALKER.

